Archive, March 2015.

An important part of the process leading up to adopting a child is the adoption home study. Because of the length and thoroughness of home studies, you may feel overly burdened and like your privacy is being invaded. But, it is important to keep in mind that the home study is a tool to ensure that your adoption will be a successful one for both you and your adopted child.What Does a Home Study Include?An adoption home study is a document written by a home study worker about the prospective adoptive parents. It includes information gathered from interviews with each family member living in…

Adopting a child from another country is more complex than a domestic adoption. These type of adoptions can be expensive and can take longer to complete. However, this does not make adopting a child from another country impossible. Rather, it just means that there are additional issues of which prospective adoptive parents should be aware.

If you are getting married, a great deal of change will occur in your life. A majority of this change will likely be beneficial for you and your new spouse. However, if you had children in a previous marriage before getting divorced, your new marriage may impact child support and visitation.Child SupportHistorically, remarrying did not impact child support as courts did not examine the amount of a new spouse's earnings. This changed slightly when, in an Illinois Appellate Court decision, it was held that the “trial court may equitably consider the income of a parent's current …

Ending a marriage through divorce is a difficult process, and is filled with many mixed emotions. The process is made more complicated when children are involved, particularly when one parent has been accused or previously convicted of domestic violence. The existence of domestic violence raises several issues that the court may have to address.